


cussing up a storm in a cocktail dress

by celaenos



Category: DC Cinematic Universe, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, apparently i love the idea of cat grant forcing young women to realize their potential in life, clearly i have too many feelings, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-01 05:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8610826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celaenos/pseuds/celaenos
Summary: Lena ducks her head, a bit sheepishly. She’s not one to become giddy, or enamored with other people. Being a Luthor comes with a certain… steel spine and apathetic eye roll at the world. A knowledge that you are better in a way that others are not. It’s hard to grow out of, even if you’re actively trying. If she’s honest, Lena’s not always trying.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> yeah so this is basically all Ellen's fault. we were talking about our Lena feelings, and our Cat feelings, and wondering what it'd be like if we got to have both of them at the same time, and.... it all got very out of hand and i don't know what happened. this isn't quite what i thought it'd be when i started, but... here we are, with nearly 4k of lena luthor feels.

Lena feels it the moment that her mother enters the room. There’s a subtle shifting of the air, voices dropping quieter, heads turning—Lena’s among them.

And there she is, Lillian Luthor, mother of the most hated man in America. In some circles. In others, well…

She glides down the staircase with her back straight, an almost smirk on her face, and accepts air kisses from guests and a glass of champagne from a server. Lena inhales, then exhales, feeling her own back straighten and a smile plaster itself onto her own face. It’s familiar. She’s attended up to a couple of hundreds of these events in her twenty-nine years. Smack dab in the middle of Lionel and Lillian, smile on, hair scrapped back tightly—painfully—and Lex, smirking and winking at her whenever their parents turn their heads.

There’s no Lex to relieve the tension now. There hasn’t been for years. Now, the memory of her brother only adds to it, thickening the air between Lena and everyone else that she meets.

Lillian finally makes her way over to Lena, all eyes on the pair as Lillian bends down and kisses her daughter’s cheek, her breath like ice.

“Hello Mom,” Lena says genially. “I’m glad you could make it.” If there’s any bite to her remark, her mother makes no mention of it as she pulls back and smiles down at her. Lena feels her body tense all the same, waiting for the inevitable blow.

“Of course,” Lillian rolls the words out on her tongue, a trick Lex picked up and was very fond of. Lena bristles. “I wouldn’t miss a LuthorCorp event darling, you now that.”

“L-Corp,” Lena corrects sharply.

“Of course,” Lillian rolls her eyes. “Your little rebellion. How do you think your father would feel if he knew you’d removed his name from his own company?”

Lena does not sigh, does not roll her eyes, does not let herself slouch underneath her mother’s gaze. She does swallow the rest of the champagne in her glass. She doesn’t want to get into this argument, not again. Truthfully, she knows that if her father were still alive, he’d be hurt by the name change. There’s only a very small part of Lena that cares. The company was doing enough corrupt and inhumane things long before Lex took it over from him. She doesn’t want the Luthor name on it anywhere, not anymore. Not with what it brings.

“Still angry he left it to Lex instead of you?” she asks, all smiles. It’s a dangerous gamble to say this in public, and Lena watches her mother’s eyes flare. She presses the knife in just a bit more. “And then Lex went and left it to me.”

She still can’t believe that he’d done it. He must have known, somehow, that Superman would best him. That, or it had just been a contingency, one of many. Lex always has a plan B. No matter what. Even, apparently one that will not allow him to take L-Corp back from her, were he to ever be released from jail.

And yet… he still sent a pack of goons to try and kill her.

Lena snatches another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and sucks it down. Not a thought she is willing to dwell on. Not now. Possibly not ever.

“What I’ve seen of the blueprints for the alien detector are quite sophisticated,” Lillian shifts the conversation as if the other one hadn’t even existed. “I’m impressed,” she means it, Lena can tell. Despite everything else, it fills her up with pride.

“Thank you. It’s still in the planning stages, but the prototypes are very promising so far.”

“I’d love to see one,” Lillian says. Only twenty-five years of being raised by the woman allow Lena to see just how eager Lillian is beneath her calm veneer. And _that’s_ why her mother had shown up to this event after threatening not to attend for weeks. She wants Lena’s tech, not Lena.

The condensation from her glass drips down onto the back of Lena’s palm and she swipes at it. “Perhaps,” she says, looking back up at her mother. “When they’re ready.”

Lillian frowns, but doesn’t press on it. Not now. Lena knows that this conversation is far from over. She only knows a sliver of her mother’s dealings with her own organization, Cadmus. But she’s heard enough rumors over the years to fill in some more of the edges. Her mother would love to get her hands on Lena’s latest invention. The knowledge twists uncomfortably in her gut. A mixture of pride and repulsion, familiar as of late.

“Are the rumors true?” Lillian asks, segueing into a new conversation with ease yet again.

Lena tenses. “What rumors?”

Lillian sips her champagne elegantly and waves to a group of women across the room. “About your apparent invitation for Supergirl to attend this party? And your last,” her voice dips low and Lena sucks in a breath. “The one where those aliens were destroyed by… a blast of some sort?” her fingers grip Lena’s bicep tightly, nails pressing into her skin, and she hisses slightly in pain. “Those men cost me a great deal of money Lena,” Lillian says directly into her ear, nails pressing down tighter.

Before Lena can say a word, suddenly, Cat Grant is before them. All smiles, hips swaying as she leans forward and masterfully pulls her mother off of Lena with a great coo of, “Lillian, dear it’s been _ages_.” She manages to slide herself between them while making a show of hugging Lillian as half of the party watches on. Lena relaxes, but only just.

“Cat,” Lillian retracts herself after kissing both cheeks. “I’d heard that you left National City,” her eyebrows raise. “Left your company. To some photographer,” she chuckles. The word sounding like an insult on her lips.

“Hum,” Cat nearly bounces on her toes, her smile brightening as she wraps one arm around Lena and rubs at her skin, still red from her mother’s fingers. “Well, the rumors of my departure may have been exaggerated slightly,” she sips at her champagne, her other arm never leaving Lena as she stares down Lillian. “However, I _have_ decided to take a sabbatical of sorts. CatCo is in the ever capable hands of James Olsen for the time being. And I get to spend more time with my son.” Cat’s hyper, intense face off with Lillian softens then, and she smiles, genuinely, at the mention of Carter. Lena swallows thickly at the sight. She’s never once seen her mother look like that when talking about Lex or herself. She leans further into Cat’s embrace, away from her mother. Neither women make note of it, but Lena knows that they’re both aware. Too aware. Suddenly, the air feels far too hot, and Lena wishes that this event were over, instead of only just beginning.

“How lovely for you,” Lillian says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“It _is_ ,” Cat beams, ignoring Lillian. Her hand rubs at Lena’s bicep again, attention shifted from mother to daughter in almost a dismissal. “I haven’t seen you in far too long. How dare you not tell me that you were moving to National City.”

Lena ducks her head, a bit sheepishly. She’s not one to become giddy, or enamored with other people. Being a Luthor comes with a certain… steel spine and apathetic eye roll at the world. A knowledge that you are _better_ in a way that others are _not._ It’s hard to grow out of, even if you’re actively trying. If she’s honest, Lena’s not always trying.

But Cat Grant is different. One look at her and you know that she is not simply one of the masses. It doesn’t hurt that Lena has known her since she was six years old.

She came running into the living room one day to show her father something, and was instead, greeted by two amused grins worn on a pair of young reporters. Lois had bent down, brown hair falling a bit into her face as she grinned and stuck out her hand. “Hiya, I’m Lois, who’re you?”

“Lena,” she’d whispered.

“My daughter,” Lionel had come into the room then, placing his hands on Lena’s shoulders as Lois stood up, leveling him with an intense look that, at six, Lena couldn’t understand. Something about it relaxed as Cat stepped closer to her. “I understand that you ladies are here for a quote?” Lionel had asked.

“We are,” Cat said, the determination in her voice apparent even to Lena.

Lionel had shuffled her out to play and closed the door. Lena had dashed off to find Lex, and the two of them sneaked water glasses from the kitchen and held them up to the door to their father’s study—a trick Lex had seen on tv. It wasn’t as effective as they’d hoped. Lex grew bored quickly and left her on her own, sitting on the floor, ear still pressed to the door as it jerked open and she fell over.

“Careful,” Cat admonished. Lena looked up sheepishly. Cat softened, only just. Lois and her father were still slowly making their way across the room. Clearly arguing about something. Cat bent down to Lena. “It’s got to be glass. Plastic doesn’t work,” she winked, then stood and walked out without another word, Lois right behind her.

Both women had come to the Luthor estate a few more times over the years. Sometimes with a man named Clark Kent. Occasionally for quotes, occasionally as guests—the Luthors always made a show of inviting the whole Daily Planet, no matter what the quotes in the papers said about them.

Lois always had a smile and a hello for Lena whenever they passed each other, but it was Cat who Lena was drawn to. Cat, who seemed both annoyed and delighted by the dark haired girl trailing along after her. Cat, who noticed Lionel’s gruff brush offs, Lillian’s sharp orders, even the darkness building slowly behind Lex’s eyes. It was Cat, who absently handed a tearful twelve-year-old Lena a tampon during a lavish party. Cat, who didn’t roll her eyes when Lena clearly didn’t know what to do with it, but gently shuffled her into the bathroom and showed her. Clinically yet kindly. Wiping at her tears afterwards and telling her that chocolate often helped. Especially M&Ms.

It was Cat’s name (along with Lois’) on the byline that showed the world just how corrupt Lionel’s LuthorCorp had become. Cat, who inadvertently had a hand in people protesting outside of Lena’s home. At girls throwing bits of paper and other, sharper things in Lena’s hair, taunting her in the halls of her boarding school. Until the day that she turned around and clawed at Veronica Sinclair’s face in retaliation.

It was Cat, who began sending Lena birthday cards every year since, relieving her guilt, or something like it. Cat, who appeared at her father’s funeral, fifteen days after Lena had graduated from high school. Her hand clutched in Lex’s, tears welling up in her eyes, because whatever else Lionel Luthor was, he was still her father. Still the man who smiled proudly when she showed him a report card full of A’s in third grade. Still the man who brought her to LuthorCorp and let her roam the halls with Lex, the two of them trying to master skateboarding. Lionel Luthor wasn’t a good man, but Lena knew that he loved her, and that mattered.

Cat waited until Lena was on her own, Lex and her mother off to the side thanking people, and made her way over. She didn’t say a word. Didn’t offer Lena any useless ‘sorrys’ or other condolences that she was beyond sick of hearing. Dressed to the nines, Cat pulled a small bag of M&Ms out of her coat pocket and slipped them into Lena’s hands, and then she was gone.

Lena pestered her frequently after that. Throughout her years of college, she emailed with Cat often. Complaining about a professor, her ever increasing pile of homework, her roommates, or the most recent girl she’d broken things off with. Cat, despite now running an empire of her own, and busy being a mother in whatever free time she clawed out for herself, always took the time to respond. She listened to Lena’s growing fears about Lex and the direction of LuthorCorp, her fragile relationship with her mother, and her fear that no one would ever want anything from Lena other than the perks that came with her last name. Occasionally, after Lena graduated they would meet up for lunch or breakfast. Once or twice, Lena offered to babysit for Carter. Somewhere along the way, the two became… something resembling friends.

She hasn’t spoken to Cat in a while—they’re both much busier these days, and Lena’s too old to be constantly seeking her advice—but she winces at her apologetically. She _should_ have told Cat that she was moving here. If she’s being honest, she was a little bit afraid of what Cat would say to her taking over LuthorCorp.

“You two still keep in contact I see?” Lillian asks with a sneer. She’s never liked Cat. Or Lena’s relationship with her. Something that seems to delight Cat thoroughly, and gave Lena a rebellious thrill when she was younger. “Darling really, don’t you think that your cries for attention are a bit childish at this point? I mean, you’ll be thirty in a few months.”

Lena glares, but doesn’t respond. It’s never worth it to rise to Lillian Luthor’s bait.

Cat, however, has a thing about crappy mothers. Likely, due to her fraught relationship with her own. Lena has only met Katherine Grant twice; she isn’t a big fan.

“Thirty?” Cat laughs, the arm still around Lena tightening in reassurance. “Ah, to be young,” she directs Lena towards the servers coming their way, the dismissal of Lillian so obvious that a man behind them chuckles into his glass before catching sight of Lillian’s glare. Cat starts talking about L-Corp, praising Lena’s accomplishments, and getting a few small digs in about some of her anti-alien stances. Lena grins and gives it right back, beginning to feel like herself again. Cat often disagrees with Lena, but she’s never made her feel belittled about it, the way that her mother is apt to do. Instead, she presents her counterarguments with a genuine smile, takes great delight whenever she manages to drag Lena over to her side, and agrees to table the conversation for a later date when it’s obvious that she’s not going to manage it that day.

Lena never fully relaxes. Her mother half hovers, chatting up the women and men who pass by her as if nothing whatsoever is wrong, but Lena can see the way that her fingers are holding her champagne glass just a bit too tight. Lena keeps a smile on her face and plays the good hostess with ease, and Cat always seems to be right there in her line of sight no matter where she is in the room.

And then, Supergirl herself arrives.

The night takes a drastic turn.

Despite what some may think, Lena is _not_ anti-alien. But, she would be lying if she said that she’s not wary. She’s seen what some of them can do. People have the right to know if there are beings capable of superhuman feats living next door to them. Aliens aren’t all like Superman and Supergirl, there are ones who mean to do humans harm.

And people should be able to know who they are.

(That’s _not_ Lex’s voice in her head. She tells herself. Over and over. _She_ believes this.

Does she?)

It doesn’t matter, a third of the people in this room believe it, and many of them aren’t thrilled by Supergirl’s appearance.

Cat nearly preens at the sight of Supergirl, dashing up and giving her a familiar hug that gives Lena pause. It’s not that… she _knew_ that Cat knows Supergirl. That’s—she assumes—how Kara Danvers is able to get in contact with her so easily. She used to be Cat’s assistant. They’re familiar.

It’s another thing to be presented with the evidence so drastically.

Supergirl beams at Cat, and hugs her back tightly, not realizing that her welcome isn’t exactly as warm from the rest of the room until she pulls away. Lena sees her swallow hesitantly, just for a moment before she widens her smile and walks over towards Lena with a confident swagger.

It’s annoyingly sexy.

“Hello Miss Luthor,” she holds out her hand. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“My pleasure,” Lena takes the hand and shakes it. It’s warm, strong, and sends a small fit of shivers down Lena’s back. “I’m glad you could make it. And please, call me Lena.”

Supergirl nods. “Okay, Lena it is then.”

The tension building throughout the rest of the room thickens. Lena feels her mother’s presence come up behind her half a second before the hand is placed on her shoulder. “You came,” she says towards Supergirl. There’s no warmth to her tone at all. The hand on Lena’s shoulder tightens considerably, and she winces briefly before schooling her face. Across from her, Supergirl frowns.

“Supergirl, this is my mother, Lillian Luthor,” Lena says, voice controlled.

Supergirl’s eyes flick down to the hand on Lena’s shoulder, and the other still holding a champagne glass, then she beams, sticking her hand out and waiting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Luthor.”

Lillian stares down at the hand, then, very slowly removes her own from Lena’s shoulder and takes it. Barely touching her. “Likewise,” she drawls out. The hand is back on Lena in half a second, this time, clasped tightly around her bicep for the second time this evening, dragging Lena away from Supergirl and Cat. “If you’ll excuse my daughter and I for just a moment,” she says, directing Lena down towards an empty hallway.

Lena yanks her arm away the second that they’re out of people’s sight. “Mother, this is _my_ party,” she snaps. “I can’t just…”

“How _dare_ you invite that woman here,” Lillian hisses. She’s more furious than Lena’s seen her in years, and she takes a step back in surprise.

“What?”

“Her cousin put your brother in _prison_ ,” she spits out venomously. “And then you go and bring one of them into our home.”

“ _My_ home,” Lena corrects. “And whether you want to hear it or not, Lex _deserves_ to be in jail. He’s responsible for nearly a hundred people’s deaths! He was _experimenting_ on human beings! All for some ridiculous petty urge to best Superman. I’m not going to apologize for trying to mend—”

The crack surprises her more than the impact of the slap. At first.

Once the stinging sets in, and she realizes what’s happened, Lena gapes at her mother. The Luthors are many things, but physically abusive have never been one of them. Not to Lena.

(She knows about the cracks that Lex had endured at the hands of Lionel. She pretends that she doesn’t, they all do, but she knows.)

Her mother can be callous. She comes off as cold more often than not, but Lena’s childhood had quite a few hugs in them. Smiles doled out, praise, kisses goodnight. Never slaps. Not once.

Not till now. 

She holds her cheek in shock, the sting biting and her mother doesn’t even look like it’s registered. She’s still ranting about Lex and the Supers. She paces the hall, nearly hissing about aliens and Cadmus, and Lena doesn’t even recognize her.

“And then _you,_ ” she turns her attention back to Lena, as if just now remembering that her daughter is even there. “You go and you do _this_ ,” she’s shaking with rage. It’s so unlike the woman that Lena grew up with, she doesn’t even know what to say. This is different than Lex.

Lex changed slowly. So slowly that Lena didn’t see it until it was too late. Slow enough for her to think that she was making a difference until it was glaring that she wasn’t. He was her loving big brother, then that boy was just _gone_. But the signs were there, once she looked back for them. Lena’s thinking back desperately now, but there’s nothing. She can’t imagine where this rage of her mother’s came from, but it’s terrifying.

Lillian rounds on her, the arm coming up again, and it’s still so shocking that Lena doesn’t do anything to move away from it.

“Lillian!” Cat’s voice echoes through the empty hallway, surrounding them. It’s so sharp and forceful that Lillian’s hand stalls halfway towards Lena’s face. She gapes at it, as if she can’t imagine what it’s doing there, as shocked by it as Lena is.

Before anyone can move, Supergirl is in front of Lena. Her body blocking Lillian, arms out, almost hugging Lena from behind in her effort to separate them. Lena’s still so surprised, she just watches as Cat marches up and lays into her mother. Lena knows that Cat Grant has a dirty mouth when she wants to, but she’s still shocked by some of the things that she spits out at Lillian. Creative in her cursing: an apparent Cat Grant specialty.

“I think it would be wise if you called it an evening,” she finally says, flipping some of her hair back and smoothing down her red cocktail dress.

“No,” Lena insists, coming back to herself. “People will speculate why you left. L-Corp doesn’t need any more bad press.” She straightens her dress and moves to try and step out from behind Supergirl. Supergirl moves with her. It’s alarmingly kind. “I’d guess that Cadmus doesn’t need it as well,” Lena directs towards her mother.

At the mention of Cadmus, Supergirl stiffens, then whips around to face Lena. There’s a momentary look of betrayal directed towards her that she doesn’t have the energy to decipher at the moment, and then Supergirl is back to glaring daggers at Lillian. But the space between herself and Lena widens. Lena tries not to make anything out of it.

“No,” Lillian says, the veneer of calm returning. “I suppose not.”

Cat and Supergirl both still look furious, and their expressions of incredulity only grow when Lena and Lillian both straighten their spines and plaster on smiles simultaneously, before turning back to the party in sync.

“Lena,” Cat reaches for her, worrying at her lower lip.

Lillian moves forward, all traces of the exchange removed from her face. When Lena turns back towards Cat and Supergirl, she doesn’t know what to do with the matching worried looks on their faces. It’s not something that she’s used to.

The betrayal on Supergirl’s face, that’s a bit more familiar. Though this time, Lena has no idea what she’s done to warrant it. It stings, in a way that she’s unprepared for. Because it’s not just betrayal, it’s disappointment. It’s pain. Whatever it is that Lena’s done now, she’s hurt Supergirl by doing it. Might have severed a friendship. Or, at the very least, the blooming possibility of one.

“I’ll be fine,” she assures them. Because, she’s a Luthor. Her father’s voice echoes inside of her head: _show no weakness_.

She turns back to the party and mingles, her spine straight, bright smile on, not a hint of discomfort. It’s nearly an hour later when realizes that she has been channeling Lex the whole time.

Her gaze catches sight of Cat and Supergirl across the room, both their faces still tinged with worry. Her mother stands to Lena’s right, the ghosts of Lex and her father stretch out in the space between them. Lena swallows thickly, and tastes bile.

She smiles anyway.

_Show no weakness._


	2. Chapter 2

Cat shows up at L-Corp four days after the party.

She bustles right into Lena’s office, poor Jess trailing after her in a panic until Lena waves her off. Cat passes a latte over to Lena and kisses her on the cheek before turning and examining her office. “Hum,” is all she says, but there’s a grin on her face when she perches on top of Lena’s desk.

“Cat,” Lena smiles at her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I’m hungry,” Cat states. “We have a reservation at Noonan’s in fifteen minutes.”

“I’m working,” Lena gestures towards her desk full of papers. “I can’t just—”

“Fourteen minutes now,” Cat jumps off the desk, picks up Lena’s purse, and heads towards the door. “Chop, chop,” and then she’s outside, barking something at Jess.

Lena sighs, hesitating only a moment before pulling on her jacket and following Cat out the door. To rescue Jess, if nothing else. The girl is a brilliant assistant; Lena doesn’t need Cat Grant scaring her off.

Cat beams at her, passes over her purse, and rolls her eyes as Lena quickly relays to Jess that she’ll be taking a lunch, and needs to push back her afternoon meeting. Knowing Cat, this spontaneous ‘lunch’ isn’t just that. There is a good chance that Lena’s afternoon is about to be much longer than she’d planned this morning.

Cat loops her arm with Lena’s as they walk down the sidewalk towards Noonan’s, going on and on about Carter’s latest science project, her _glorious_ sabbatical, and a particularly fantastic cupcake that she had yesterday. Lena’s known Cat nearly all her life, and she’s well aware that Cat is trying to trick her into a false sense of security. It’s not working.

“What’s this about?” she asks as they take their seats.

Cat raises her eyebrows innocently and opens her menu. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Have you had the shrimp scampi here?” 

“Fine, if you want to make small talk until—”

“So, Supergirl and your mother don’t get along,” Cat interrupts, smiling at the waiter and ordering before turning back to Lena.

“I… don’t see why anyone would be under the impression that they _would_ ,” Lena says, picking up her glass of water and drinking far more of it than she’d intended.

“And yet, you invited them both to your party.”

Lena stops herself from biting at her bottom lip in frustration. “Yes. I did.”

“Interesting,” Cat draws the word out slowly.

“Not particularly. It would look odd if I didn’t invite my own mother, and it was good press to invite Supergirl,” Lena shrugs.

Cat’s lips purse, an expression that never means anything good. Lena tries, desperately not to fidget underneath her gaze. Cat’s always respected Lena, but she also always makes her feel incredibly young. A child playing at adulthood, hoping that no one will notice and tell her to go home. She’s unsuccessful, clearly, from the way that Cat’s hand juts out and grasps at her own.

“I’ve heard quite a few rumors about Cadmus as of late,” Cat says.

“You’re not the only one,” Lena pulls her hand back. She regrets it the moment she sees a flash of hurt in Cat’s eyes, but the damage is already done. Lena presses her hands underneath her thighs instead and grits her teeth. She _always_ manages to do this. “There have been rumors for years. People like to gossip.”

“True,” Cat hums. “But that was before a talking head started appearing on a multitude of screens all over the country claiming Cadmus to be synonymous with the anti-alien movement.”

Lena stiffens. She’s had a young girl in her IT department working on finding the source code to that message since it appeared on her computer screen. Asking her mother outright is not, and will never be a possibility, not without more information. “The things people can do with computers these days,” Lena drawls, not meeting Cat’s eye.

“Lena, you can do more with computers than most people I know,” Cat says dryly.

“Well, you must know quite a lot of stupid people then,” Lena deflects, knowing how useless it is. Cat laughs, and the waiter comes over with their lunches, refilling their water glasses before he leaves. Lena takes a bite of her food rather than continue the conversation. Cat takes her lead, for once. That in of itself is so surprising that Lena finishes half of her meal before either of them say another word. The silence becomes unbearable, because Cat Grant is never quiet, not without meaning. “Say whatever you came here to say Cat,” Lena finally says with a sigh.

“I’ve known you since you were six years old,” Cat twirls her pasta elegantly, taking the smallest of bites. Lena’s hands still on the sides of her plate.

“I know.”

“Do you know that I kept track of you because I felt guilty?” Cat doesn’t look at Lena as she speaks, slowly twirling her pasta, staring down at her water glass and speaking very deliberately.  

“I figured,” Lena says, her voice thick.

“Do you know what I felt guilty about?”

Lena has quite a few guesses. She’s sure that it’s a combination of at least a few of them, but she says nothing in response, merely shrugs and waits.

“The article on your father, for one. I don’t regret it, not for a minute, though I do regret how difficult your life became afterwards. But truthfully, when I first looked at you that day, Lionel Luthor’s beautiful adopted little girl, I thought about the son that I gave up,” Cat is just shuffling her pasta around the plate now, all pretense of eating it gone. Lena doesn’t take her eyes of Cat’s face, watching every small movement intently. “You were only a few years older than him at the time, and I’d just had a terrible fight with my mother about him that morning,” she shrugs, but Lena can see the way that her body’s tensed up. “It’s possible that I would have had a similar reaction had Lex been the one hiding behind that door,” she shrugs. “Who knows?”

At the mention of Lex, Lena quickly drops her gaze down to the table. Taking a minute and breathing in and out before looking back up. She can’t wait for the day when simply the mention of her brother’s name ceases to make her heart clench up in pain.

“Cat—”

“Wait, just… let me finish please?”

Cat Grant very rarely says _please._ Lena nods for her to continue, much as she wants to pay the bill and run out the door.

“It’s doubtful,” Cat presses on as if never interrupted. “There was something I liked about you right away, the fight that morning might have just been the thing that made me pay more attention.” Cat reaches out and gulps down the rest of her water, then smiles and straightens, meeting Lena’s eye again. “And all of this is a very roundabout way of saying that you’ve been important to me for a very long time Lena Luthor. It may have started out because of my own guilt, but it stopped being that a very long time ago. I’m not your mother, or your family, or… technically even your friend I suppose. Mentor sounds a bit ridiculous when paired with the two of us; you’re doing just fine on your own, you don’t need advice from me anymore—”

“Cat,” Lena sucks in a breath, because _god_ yes she does. It makes her feel a bit useless, but just the idea of having the option helps Lena feel like she’s not going to drown sometimes.

Cat waves her off. “Though of course I’m always here if you need me,” she says, so casually, so genuinely that Lena bites roughly at the inside of her cheek to stop herself from getting overemotional in the middle of an overpriced restaurant. “But the point of the matter is that you’re doing _brilliantly_ and that you don’t _need_ me. But, as I’m sure you’re aware, I don’t… have many close relationships with very many people. A trait I know that we unfortunately share,” she hesitates, and Lena hates herself for pulling her hand away earlier, but thankfully, Cat reaches out again. Grasping one of Lena’s hands and holding on until Lena meets her eyes, then she squeezes, and smiles. It’s a familiar smile. It’s one that Lena has only ever seen reserved for Carter before now, and now she is _definitely_ going to cry in the middle of this restaurant.

“I don’t—” Lena swallows thickly and blinks a few times, refusing to let any tears fall.

“I don’t know what’s going on with your mother. I don’t know how much _you_ know what’s going on with your mother and her organization and truthfully, I don’t care about that as much as someone like Supergirl does right now. Though, I probably should.”

Lena’s ashamed at the way her heartbeat quickens at the mention of Supergirl. She hasn’t seen nor heard from her since the party. Not since Supergirl left, looking at Lena like… like she’d done something unforgivable somehow. What, Lena has no idea. She’d been polite, but a bit cold and distant as she made her goodbyes. Add to the fact that Kara never even showed up, and that Lena hasn’t heard from _her_ either… Lena’s been having a terrible week so far.

“Cat, I don’t know what you—”

“You’re smart enough to read between the lines of what your mother says. But the only reason that I’m here is to make sure that you know you have me, if you need me. I may be enjoying my sabbatical, and Carter and I are planning on taking a vacation to Italy for Thanksgiving,” Cat looks at Lena seriously. “But I’m only a phone call away. And, for what it’s worth, Supergirl is someone that you can trust.”

“Cat,” Lena sighs. “You and I have very different perceptions to Supers. And clearly, she’s already decided that I’m just like Lex, if her departure from my party is any indication.”

“I don’t know what that was about,” Cat admits. “It was a bit out of character to the woman I’ve come to know. But she very obviously cares about your wellbeing, that much was obvious.”

“Why are we talking about this?” Lena snaps.

“Because, I think that you need to be reminded that people care about you outside of your complicated relationship with your mother, and your employees,” Cat flips her hair out of her face and smirks. “My former assistant, for one, has clearly become infatuated with you.”

Lena is embarrassed to admit that she chokes on her pasta. _“What?”_

Cat’s smirk widens. “She’s bubbly and _genuine_ in that very annoying and intoxicating way,” she says with an eye roll. “She’s a very good person to have in your life. Despite her _many_ annoying qualities, I’ve grown quite fond of her,” she pauses. “Did I tell that you my sabbatical was actually inspired by her?”

Lena shakes her head and quickly dabs at her face with her napkin. She is done eating.

Cat hums. “It was,” she stares at Lena for a very long uncomfortable time in which Lena does _not_ fidget. “She’s a good friend to have. I’m glad that the two of you have become close.”

“I’m not sure that’s how I’d describe it.”

“How would you?”

Lena struggles to find any word that sounds like it might fit. Truthfully, she has no idea what to make of her relationship with Kara Danvers. Intoxicating isn’t far off. Kara makes Lena feel… like she doesn’t have to be constantly on edge. From the moment that she walked into Lena’s office, with Clark Kent of all people, it felt like she didn’t look at Lena and just see _Luthor._ She makes Lena feel like she isn’t always waiting for the other shoe to drop during their conversations. Like she doesn’t have to be constantly performing, dissected for her every move and thought. Kara makes her feel almost safe.

Which is a dangerous and idiotic assumption on Lena’s part. For goodness sake, she barely knows Kara at all, and she’s smarter than that. Lex’s voice rings out in her ears: _Luthors always have to be ready for anything. Never let your guard down._

“She’s nice,” Lena finally answers, cringing along with Cat at the descriptor. “But we don’t really know each other all that well yet.”

“Well, you should change that.”

“Cat, I really do need to get back to the office. Some of us aren’t on a sabbatical,” she indicates to the waiter to bring them the check.

“I threw myself into my work for many reasons,” Cat admits. “Because I loved it. Because I was great at it. _And_ because I was trying in some part to fill a void that I hadn’t found elsewhere.” They both rise and gather their things, making their way towards the door. “You, are an incredibly smart and powerful woman Lena, and you should be very proud of yourself. But don’t make the same mistakes that I did,” Cat loops her arm through Lena’s again as they step outside. “Let people into your life before you’re over the age of fifty and lonely,” Cat lifts up slightly and places a warm kiss onto Lena’s cheek. “And tell your mother to go fuck herself if she’s being a cow,” she whispers. “It can be immensely satisfying. I did it just yesterday,” she pulls back a bit, and frowns at Lena’s top. “Also, this color doesn’t quite work for you. Bold choice, but don’t wear it again.”

With that, Cat almost twirls away and starts walking down the street, away from the direction of L-Corp. She waves at Lena over her shoulder, devilishly bright smile on her face before sauntering away. Lena feels a little bit like she’s been emotionally whiplashed. It takes her a second before she readjusts her purse onto her shoulder and walks back to work.

…

…

She doesn’t see Kara, her mother, or Supergirl again until Thanksgiving.

(Her finger hovers over Kara’s name in her phone three times in the days after her spontaneous lunch with Cat, but she never hits send.)  

Kara comes to her instead, asking questions about her mother for a puff piece with almost no subtlety at all. It’s the final straw; Lena can’t ignore it anymore, so she shuffles Kara out and calls her mother.

Lena’s already had one glass of wine by the time her mother arrives. A second, half-drunk, rests on her desk along with the meager excuse for a Thanksgiving dinner. (It’s a shitty holiday based mostly on genocide and lies anyhow. The sting of spending it alone has lessened to almost nothing at this point.)

The wine and her frustrations bubble up, and she’s combative almost the very second that Lillian walks through her door. It feels juvenile and satisfying all at once. Per usual, Lillian doesn’t let her in. Lena warns her about Kara, but doesn’t mention her own efforts to find out just what exactly Lillian is up to. She’s done her daughterly duty for the day. Lillian leaves without so much as a ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ and Lena dumps the remains of her wine down the sink, her food into the trash, and goes back to work with dry eyes.

She’s still at work, hours later, when Jess’ panicked voice squeaks out over the intercom about a man with a metal face down in the lobby overpowering the security guards, fighting Supergirl, and that she’s called the police. Lena runs out of her office, yelling at Jess not to move (she’d never forgive herself if her twenty-year old assistant got hurt because she works for a Luthor) and makes her way downstairs as fast as she can.

Lena makes it to the lobby in time to see the man sending Supergirl flying across the room. She slams into the wall with so much force that Lena’s heart drops into her stomach. She doesn’t breathe until she sees Supergirl move, dragging herself up slowly. She meets Lena’s eye, and Lena doesn’t have time to unpack what she is feeling right now, because that’s when the man catches sight of Lena. He moves over and lifts the concrete L statue up over his head and throws it directly at Lena. She panics, running backwards and trying to throw her arms up in a feeble attempt to shield herself. There’s no point, she cannot outrun it or duck fast enough—she’s going to die.

_She wishes that Lex were here._

Then there’s a blur of red and dust flies everywhere. Lena gasps, choking on it and blinks. Supergirl is stumbling slightly from the impact, her body directly in front of Lena’s. She saved her, again.

“Get out of here,” Supergirl says in a rush, then flies back at the man, trying to contain the damage.

Lena runs. Her legs shake so hard that she nearly falls up the stairs twice. She curses, stumbling back into her office after reassuring Jess that she’s _fine._ Supergirl and a very large number of what looked like SWAT officers have it handled. She sucks down an entire glass of water in a few seconds, then pours another. Her legs are still shaking. She lowers herself down into her chair and blindly reaches for her phone. Her finger hovers over the name _Lex_ for all of a second before she calls her insurance company.

That, is something that she can deal with right now.

By the time that Supergirl comes flying through her office window, she’s composed herself enough to laugh, genuinely. “That’s not actually an entrance you know?” she jokes. Supergirl appears to be all business though, hands awkwardly on her hips, not making eye contact, pacing, until she turns around and speaks and Lena’s stomach drops.

_Of course._

Lena snaps at her. Folds her arms up and swallows back tears because _of course._ “You know, I thought you were different.” Cat was wrong. _She_ was wrong to ever think that she could have anything but a fraught relationship with a Super. Lex once thought of Superman as his friend. Lex once trusted him, look how that turned out. Supergirl is his cousin, _of course_ she doesn’t trust Lena. She never once should have let herself think otherwise. “You wear that symbol on your chest and everyone thinks you’re good,” she laughs bitterly. “How many times does your cousin put on that high and mighty costume and come after Lex?”

Of course she looks at Lena and sees _Luthor._ Sees _enemy._ Of course she accuses her mother of basically being the devil incarnate. Lena isn’t stupid, she knows that her mother is involved in something unseemly, but _this?_ Running Cadmus? Kidnapping Supergirl? Mass murder through some virus? _No._

“I know what it’s like to be disillusioned by our parents,” Supergirl says softly. “But I’m a pretty good judge of character, and you are _not_ like your mother. She is cold and dangerous,” she moves closer to Lena, who doesn’t think she’s breathing right now at all. “And you are too _good_ and too smart to follow in her path.” She’s so _genuine,_ so earnest as she says, “Be your own hero,” that Lena doesn’t know what to do. Supergirl is only standing a foot or so away from her now, and she’s looking at Lena like she believes what she is saying, wholeheartedly.

It’s too much.

Lena quickly drops her eyes down to her tablet and picks it up, because if she has to look at Supergirl’s face for one more second, she’ll burst into tears. This entire conversation is so much more overwhelming than the one she had with Cat a few weeks ago that she _can’t breathe._ She flicks at nothing on her tablet, not looking back up at Supergirl’s face. Not looking at the symbol on her chest. Not thinking about her mother, or Lex.

“You can leave the way you came in,” she manages to bite out.

Supergirl hesitates for a moment, and Lena has a terrifying thought that possibly Supergirl might move to touch her, might not take the dismissal for what it is. But she does. She walks past Lena slowly, and then she’s up in the air, and then she’s gone.

Lena bursts into tears.

Frankly, it’s been a long time coming.

…

…

It takes her half an hour of crying, and another to formulate a plan.

One good thing about being a Luthor, they tend to bounce back quickly when cornered. Each and every one of them have the _fight_ response.

She dismisses Jess for the evening, ignores a text message from Cat, and calls her mother for the second time that day. Now that she’s got more information, the conversation goes much better than the first.

The drive is still terse and full of awkward silences. Lena and Lillian do much better with buffers, and Lillian’s driver does not make a sufficient one. Lena holds the briefcase too tightly, her fingers ache.

She wants _desperately_ to be wrong.

Perhaps this is all some giant cruel trick. Lex will pull up in a car, Lillian will smile at them both and declare the entire thing a ruse.

Her mother pulls a chain off from around her neck, and Lena straightens up her spine. If Lex _were_ here, he’d tell her to get herself together. “Some mothers wear lockets with pictures of their children around their necks,” Lena says dryly. “You were the keys to a bazooka.”

Lillian chuckles, and it stings, that in this moment Lena still feels proud that she can get her mother to laugh. She wants to ask _why._ She wants to ask what is wrong that Lena isn’t enough? That Lillian feels the need to do _this?_ But she doesn’t. Her eyes are dry, her spine is as straight as her mother’s, and not a single part of her body shakes as she takes the keys from Lillian. Supergirl and the Martian show up, and Lena only smirks.

“Why not,” she taunts Supergirl, “I’m a Luthor aren’t I?” she turns the key, ignoring the pleading look on Supergirl’s face and focusing on the pride on her mother’s. She might as well soak it up while it’s there, it won’t last for very long.

Lena and Lillian move out of the way while the two god-like beings fight each other, and Supergirl flies desperately after the bomb. Lena flinches when her mother presses the detonation button, and she watches Supergirl fall out of the sky. The isotope begins to rain down, and everyone freezes at the sight. It’s a little bit beautiful, the red shimmery substance that falls and envelops them all. It’s all the more beautiful knowing what’s about to happen next.

Supergirl realizes first. Or maybe, Lena’s attention is just already focused on her. She turns away the moment Supergirl looks over at her with something like wonder, confusion, and pride. Her mother’s face, is a far cry from the look on Supergirl’s. Confusion, then realization, then complete and utter contempt.

“You did this,” she all but gasps. “You switched the isotope.”

“I did,” Lena smirks. It’s not often that she ever gets to outwit her mother. Lillian Luthor is almost always five steps ahead of everyone else. Lena nods towards the flashing lights appearing in the corner of her eye. “And I called the police.”

Lillian glares down at her, not saying a word. The silence and the look on her face says enough. Lena doesn’t break eye contact as the officers run up and push Lillian into handcuffs, not once. Lillian holds her gaze and Lena feels like she might throw up. If she moves, if she opens her mouth, she might just run at the officers and claim she was wrong—it wasn’t her mother. She takes it all back.

She doesn’t want to be left alone. Two of her family members in jail, and one in the ground, and Lena… all alone in her righteousness. The cars begin to pull away and Lena wishes that she’d been able to just help her mother for real. The flash of pride on her face when Lena had taunted Supergirl and turned the key will never _ever_ be replicated again, not after this. And Lena hates herself, but she aches for it back.

A gentle hand touches her shoulder and Lena jumps.

“I’m sorry,” Supergirl says quickly, moving her hand and stepping back. “I said your name a few times, I don’t think you heard me.”

“I…” Lena swallows. “No.”

“I’m sorry,” Supergirl says. Lena blinks at her. She has no unearthly idea _what_ Supergirl is apologizing for, and she says as such. “Your mother,” Supergirl nods towards the final car, lights flashing, pulling away from the scene and leaving it eerily quiet. “I didn’t want to be right. I’m sorry that I was.”

“Why?” Lena snaps. “What do you care about Lillian Luthor?”

Supergirl shrugs, and it’s… familiar in a way that Lena can’t place. Her head is spinning, and she just got her mother arrested, and it’s still fucking _Thanksgiving_. She just wants to go home and take a hot bath and not think about _anything_ right now.

“I guess I don’t much, other than I’m sad that she’s filled with so much hate and I can’t do anything about that. But, I care because you do. Because you deserve a better mother than her.”

Lena is very glad that her hands are in her pockets, because they’re clenched so tightly that Supergirl might think she were winding up to try and punch her if she saw them. “You barely know me,” she means to say harshly, but it comes out in a whisper instead.

Now, Supergirl smiles. “I know enough. And I was right about you,” she very nearly bounces on her toes with glee. “You saved everyone. You’re a hero Lena Luthor,” she moves forward, tentatively but with far too much excitement. “Thank you,” she says softly. She seems to be aware that any attempt at comfort would not be well received, and thankfully, she doesn’t reach out and touch Lena. But she does beam at her silently for a beat before stepping back and giving Lena a little awkward wave. “I’ll see you later,” she flies up into the air slowly, almost hovering a few feet above Lena. “Then I’ll know more,” her grin widens, and then she takes off, leaving Lena alone in the empty parking lot, hands shaking in her pockets.

…

…

Her hands aren’t shaking by the time she reaches her apartment, but she doesn’t feel even remotely composed. She opens the refrigerator, thinking briefly that she should eat something, only to close it a moment later.

She turns the water on as hot as it will go, and lets the bathtub start to fill. She paces, waiting, her phone on the edge of the sink. Lena grabs for it. It takes two fumbling attempts where she puts it back down on the counter only to snatch it up again before she dials.

“Lena,” Cat sounds sleepy. Lena can’t remember what the time difference is and curses under her breath.

“I’m sorry… I’ll…” Lena presses a palm over her mouth and sucks in a ragged breath.

“I’m glad you called,” Cat insists. “You didn’t wake me. What’s wrong?”

“I’m…” the water in the tub is spilling over. Lena jumps to turn it off and yelps when some of it gets on her calf. It’s scalding. Lena sinks down onto the floor, still in her dress from work and lets out a shaky breath. “Tell me about Italy,” she asks.

“You’ve been here before,” Cat states.

“Yes. Please tell me anyway,” Lena whispers. 

There’s a beat, in which Lena is terrified that Cat is going to insist that she tells her exactly what is wrong, but Lena hears her shift instead, getting comfortable. “Well, Carter and I went to a wonderful museum today…”

By the time that the water is a bearable temperature, Lena’s relaxed and distracted enough to get in and enjoy it. Cat doesn’t hang up. She goes on and on about how much food Carter insisted on eating, about a retched old woman who is staying in the villa to their right, about the espresso she had that morning. So many things that Lena forgets, for a moment, about her mother. About Lex. About Supergirl. Cat talks until Lena’s lying in bed, half asleep and no longer feels like her entire world has just turned on its axis, again.

“Goodnight Lena,” Cat hums softly a beat later. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

Lena’s already half asleep, and the last thing she hears is Cat’s gentle laughter.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, apparently i had a few more feelings:) i won't be adding to this any further, but i _am_ working on a longer supercorp fic that focuses on all of s2 thus far and beyond, so.. you can look out for a that i suppose! i almost didn't post this, bc once i wrote it, i wanted the lena/kara/thanksgiving bits to be in my supercorp fic.... but... i decided to anyway. 
> 
> (there's a chance that part will show up... possibly almost word for word, in that fic at some point... i dunno yet. we'll see how it goes.)


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